Seasonality of rural tourism: a comparative analysis of 33 cities in China

Seasonal fluctuation amplitude and its distribution structure are two indispensable aspects to characterize seasonality, whereas the latter is that can be easily ignored in previous studies. By using a model of Lineal Programming and GeoDetector, this study explores the spatial-temporal characteristics of rural tourism in 33 Chinese cities, and the results indicate that for cities with the roughly similar fluctuation amplitude, the more dispersed the fluctuation distributes, the weaker the seasonal level. The intensity of rural tourism seasonality shows the characteristics of strong spatial heterogeneity and dependence, decreasing from west to east and from south to north. According to the differentiation degree between peak and off season, four main types are identified for the studied 33 cities, which further makes clear the development direction of rural tourism market. This study also suggests that both natural and social factors affect seasonal spatial differentiation, and their interaction greatly enhances its own influence.